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At the time, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also said that another $263 million was available. More than 35 million birds had been lost or were being removed under the outbreak response, including millions of egg-laying hens.
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What the $146 million covered
The $146 million referred to indemnity payments made to eligible poultry owners whose birds or eggs had to be destroyed as part of an official HPAI response.
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That is different from saying USDA spent $146 million fighting bird flu. Federal response funding could also pay for activities such as:
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- diagnostic testing and field investigations;
- depopulation and disposal;
- cleaning and disinfection;
- virus-elimination work; and
- other emergency response costs.
In May 2022, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said Secretary Vilsack had approved a $400 million transfer from the Commodity Credit Corporation. Earlier emergency funding included approximately $130 million approved in mid-March and $263 million approved in late April. Those appropriations supported indemnities and other response expenses, so they should not be treated as a total of payments made directly to poultry owners.
Indemnity was not a payment to consumers
The money was not a subsidy paid to shoppers, a rebate on eggs, or a payment intended to hold down grocery prices. It was compensation connected to qualifying poultry and eggs destroyed under government disease-control actions.
USDA’s current HPAI guidance says that the indemnity program pays for eligible birds and eggs that must be destroyed, but generally does not pay for birds that died from HPAI before they could be destroyed under the response. Payments are calculated using flock inventories and standardized indemnity values rather than simply reimbursing every reported loss at a farmer’s requested price.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteUSDA also distinguishes indemnity from broader compensation. Other response payments may cover such items as destroyed materials, depopulation, disposal, and cleaning or disinfection. Those categories are part of the wider response effort, not necessarily part of the $146 million figure reported on April 29, 2022.
How large was the outbreak when the figure was reported?
The United States confirmed HPAI in a commercial poultry flock on February 8, 2022. By the time the $146 million figure was reported in late April, the outbreak had already caused losses exceeding 35 million birds, according to contemporaneous reporting.
The outbreak continued to grow after that snapshot:
| Date or reporting period | Reported situation |
|---|---|
| April 29, 2022 | About $146 million in indemnities had reportedly been paid, with $263 million additionally available; more than 35 million birds had been lost or affected by required removals. |
| May 11, 2022 | USDA’s Economic Research Service reported 172 commercial-flock detections in 20 states and more than 37 million commercial birds culled, including 28.7 million egg-laying hens. |
| May 31, 2022 | APHIS’s interim epidemiological summary counted 35 affected states, 174 backyard flocks, 220 commercial producers, and 38 million birds dead or depopulated. |
These figures use different dates and categories, so they should not be added together. “Dead or depopulated,” “culled,” and birds covered by indemnity are not interchangeable measures.
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Why laying hens were central to the story
Egg-laying hens made up a particularly large share of the early losses. A contemporaneous April estimate that more than 27 million laying hens represented roughly three-fourths of U.S. bird losses was accurate for that reporting window, but it was not a final outbreak total.
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The loss of laying hens affected the egg supply. USDA’s Economic Research Service later reported that more than 43 million egg-laying hens had been lost to HPAI or depopulation by the end of December 2022. Egg inventories were 29% lower in the final week of December than at the beginning of the year, while wholesale egg prices reached historic highs.
The relationship was straightforward but not exclusive: fewer productive hens reduced egg output, which put upward pressure on prices. Seasonal demand, purchasing patterns, and other market conditions also influenced prices. The $146 million payment figure itself was not a payment designed to lower egg prices.
How 2022 compared with the 2014–2015 outbreak
Vilsack reportedly described the April 2022 indemnity position as approximately half the level seen during the previous major U.S. avian-influenza outbreak. That comparison referred to indemnity payments, not necessarily to the number of birds lost or the complete economic cost of each outbreak.
USDA and APHIS provided several broader comparisons:
| Measure | 2014–2015 outbreak | 2022 interim comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Birds dead or depopulated | Approximately 50.5 million | Approximately 38 million through May 31, 2022 |
| Commercial poultry losses cited by USDA | About 7.4 million turkeys and 43 million egg-laying and pullet chickens | More than 37 million commercial birds culled by May 11 |
| Estimated export losses | Approximately $1.3 billion | Approximately $800 million in the comparison cited by APHIS |
By the May 2022 interim report, the new outbreak had affected more states and producers than the 2014–2015 event had at a comparable point, even though its bird losses were still lower than the earlier outbreak’s total. The 2022 outbreak was still developing when the $146 million report was published.
What happened to indemnity payments afterward?
The April 2022 amount should not be silently presented as a current total. Payments continued for years as the outbreak spread and recurred.
On December 30, 2024, APHIS reported that it had paid more than 1,200 producers nearly $1.1 billion in total indemnities since the beginning of the current outbreak. APHIS also said that 67 commercial premises had experienced at least two infections and that reinfected premises had received more than $365 million in indemnity payments.
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11That later figure is the appropriate context for understanding how far the program expanded after April 2022. It does not change what the original $146 million figure meant: approximately $146 million had been paid at that earlier point in time.
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Later changes to USDA’s policy
USDA’s rules and valuation methods also evolved after the original report. In a December 2024 policy update, APHIS conditioned future indemnity eligibility for certain commercial premises on biosecurity audits before restocking and, in specified circumstances, before poultry movement into buffer zones.
Those requirements are later developments. They should not be attributed to the April 2022 payment report.
APHIS continues to publish annual indemnity tables and producer-compensation guidance. Its July 1, 2026 guidance states that APHIS, USDA’s Farm Service Agency, and the Farm Production and Conservation Business Center develop standardized indemnity values using government or publicly available nationally representative data. The tables are updated annually, and APHIS has published revised 2026 values reflecting updated valuation methods and market data.
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The most accurate interpretation is:
On April 29, 2022, USDA had reportedly paid about $146 million in indemnities to eligible poultry owners whose birds or eggs were destroyed during the HPAI response. It was an early cumulative payment figure, separate from the broader federal response budget and much lower than the total indemnities reported later.
It is inaccurate to describe the amount as:
- the total federal cost of the 2022-present bird-flu outbreak;
- the total value of all birds that died or were removed;
- a payment to egg consumers;
- a guarantee that every bird lost to HPAI would be reimbursed; or
- the current USDA indemnity total.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did USDA pay $146 million to poultry farmers in 2022?
USDA was reported on April 29, 2022, to have paid approximately $146 million in indemnities to eligible poultry owners. The payment covered qualifying birds and eggs destroyed under the HPAI response, not necessarily every bird that died from the disease.
Did the $146 million represent the full cost of fighting bird flu?
No. It represented indemnities paid to poultry owners at that point. The broader federal response also included diagnostics, field operations, depopulation, disposal, cleaning, disinfection, and other emergency expenses.
Why did bird flu affect egg prices?
The outbreak killed or led to the depopulation of millions of laying hens, reducing the number of hens producing eggs. USDA later reported lower egg inventories and historically high wholesale prices. Seasonal demand and other market conditions also contributed.
What was the later USDA bird-flu indemnity total?
On December 30, 2024, APHIS said nearly $1.1 billion had been distributed in indemnity payments to more than 1,200 producers since the beginning of the current outbreak. That later figure should not be substituted for the original April 2022 snapshot.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: The $146 million was an April 29, 2022 snapshot of USDA indemnity payments to poultry owners—not a consumer payment and not the total cost of the bird-flu response. The outbreak and the indemnity program grew substantially afterward, with APHIS reporting nearly $1.1 billion in cumulative indemnities by December 2024.
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